MMA Comments that Don't Warrant a Thread

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Penn/Gomi.

 

I loves me The Fight Network.

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Thoughts? Apparently not a lot of people have actually seen the fight.

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I dug it. Almost went the full 3 before BJ sunk in the choke on Gomi and up until that point it was fairly even. Gomi did a really good job of defending his back against BJ and avoiding the subs and was the agressor when it came to striking. BJ put a serious hurtin' on him when Gomi gave him his back and it probably ended up costing him the fight. The final minute is awesome, Gomi's mouth guard flies out of his mouth and BJ rolls him and goes for the choke. Right before that a river of blood flows out of Gomi's mouth and then *tap*.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

I would not say that the fight was even to that point, as BJ took him down at will and dominated the ground game like no other. Sure, Gomi got a few strikes in standing, but not enough to offset the clinic BJ was giving him on the ground. I still can't believe he just slid through his butterfly guard and took mount. That was sick.

[Lei Tong 0]

I don't think the fight was that close, either. Gomi's best round was probably the 2nd, as he was able to get himself into top position twice and land a few shots standing... but in exchange got his nose broken, jaw smashed and temple hit repeatedly by BJ's dirty boxing. I think I had the bout scored 20-17 going into the 3rd round.

[cameron chaos 0]

Okay, so that's what they meant when they used to say "as a whitebelt he used to tap out blackbelts"? I thought they meant BJJ blackbelts.

 

A black belt in judo lost credibility for me when I found out that Frank Trigg, yes Frank Trigg, is a SECOND degree black belt in Judo.

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A black belt in judo simply means you know all the judo throws there are. In Japan they have white belts and black belts, nothing in between, so you either know your shit or you don't. The standard of judo black belts varies wildly as Eastern European judo guys generally also do sambo tournaments and so are more familiar with submissions, Japanese judoka are heavily into throws but do incorporate some groundwork and subs, whereas most Western judo schools are the focus is on the throws with little time given to chokes and submissions. I know a BJJ purple belt called Mariusz that literally got his judo black belt in one class by throwing around all the lower belts before facing a line up (3 brown belts one at a time facing off against him, no breaks in between) and scoring perfect throws on all three of them. He walked in with no belt, walked out with a black. 3rd and 4th dan judo guys are pretty good and well rounded but that's because they've had the time to really study all the facets and history of the art. However most that get to that level are getting up their in years so you won't see them competing.

 

Aopparently Penn was catching black belts when he was a purple. He went 30 mins no gi against Frank Shamrock when he was a blue... I don't know whether that says more about Penn's skills at the time or Frank's.

[Lei Tong 0]

He went 30 mins no gi against Frank Shamrock when he was a blue... I don't know whether that says more about Penn's skills at the time or Frank's.

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Probably somewhere in between, as Frank has never been the best positional submission fighter I've ever seen.

 

 

 

And on a totally unrelated note, I recently reheard an MMA myth that seemingly won't die: Heath Herring would not only be an instant contender in the UFC, he would most likely be a champion.

 

To this day, I can not think of a single point in Heath's career that coincided with a time in the UFC that he could've been HW champion, or even the 3rd best fighter in the division.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

That makes sense though about the Judo, because it seems like people knock Karo for not being world class judoka, but in terms of an actual submission grappling match, I'm sure he'd do a lot better than most of them because most of the top matches focus on throws rather than submissions. It seems that in recent years Judo has been getting less time spent on ground work, which takes away a big facet of its game.

 

Being a purple belt submitting black belts is understandable. I know of a blue belt at our gym that submitted a Carlson Gracie Brown belt. Maybe the next BJ Penn?

 

How did that no gi match go? A draw or did someone win on points? Frank always seemed pretty active on his back, and he would have had a big size advantage on BJ so I would guess that he would have won. Then again, Frank's most impressive submissions are on guys with virtually no submission experience (Jackson, Hendo). I guess catching Horn might be impressive, but you don't hear people singing Elvis Sinosic's praises.

 

Heath Herring would have been 3rd at the end of 2001, at least. He showed he could beat wrestlers in Erikson and Kerr, as well as beating a bunch of lower guys and looking good against the top heavyweight in the world. Maybe Couture would have beat him, but Barnett probably wouldn't have. Barnett would have no size advantage there, and that would have caused problems for him.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Regardless of his status or abilities at the moment I'm a firm believer that Herring in the UFC would only be a goood thing.

[AboveAverage484 0]

I always thought Herring looked like shit against Nogueira in their first match. He got beat in standup, takedowns and grappling. Pretty much the whole match was him getting out of scrapes Nogueira put him in. After the first two minutes you pretty much know that Heath has no chance.

 

Doesn't make it any less exciting, though.

[Lei Tong 0]

The only thing Herring has on a motivated Barnett is KO power standing. Josh has comparable takedowns, can fight both on top and from the bottom on the ground, and is much less wild standing. In 2001, I would've taken Couture, Rizzo, Barnett and Ricco over Heath.

 

The problem with people giving Heath props for the first Noguiera match is that almost EVERYONE looks good against Nog. Guys like Han, TK, Tamura, Kopylov, Yokoi, etc. have managed to look anywhere from decent to good against the guy, and they also managed to avoid "Sweet Georgia Brown" moments standing (particularly as Heath tried to trade with his head down).

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Mir would have lots of problems with Heath, so I'd like to know who the 3 HW in the UFC are that could take him.

[cameron chaos 0]

That makes sense though about the Judo, because it seems like people knock Karo for not being world class judoka, but in terms of an actual submission grappling match, I'm sure he'd do a lot better than most of them because most of the top matches focus on throws rather than submissions. It seems that in recent years Judo has been getting less time spent on ground work, which takes away a big facet of its game.

 

Being a purple belt submitting black belts is understandable. I know of a blue belt at our gym that submitted a Carlson Gracie Brown belt. Maybe the next BJ Penn?

 

How did that no gi match go? A draw or did someone win on points? Frank always seemed pretty active on his back, and he would have had a big size advantage on BJ so I would guess that he would have won. Then again, Frank's most impressive submissions are on guys with virtually no submission experience (Jackson, Hendo). I guess catching Horn might be impressive, but you don't hear people singing Elvis Sinosic's praises.

 

Heath Herring would have been 3rd at the end of 2001, at least. He showed he could beat wrestlers in Erikson and Kerr, as well as beating a bunch of lower guys and looking good against the top heavyweight in the world. Maybe Couture would have beat him, but Barnett probably wouldn't have. Barnett would have no size advantage there, and that would have caused problems for him.

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Karo was the third ranked judo player in the USA a couple of years So he's no slouch, but world class judo... not so sure about that though I'd have liked to see him against Trigg.

 

Mariusz didn't submit the judo brown belts. He won by ippon on them all, clean throws where they landed on their backs. He's a big Polish dude though so it's no surprise he threw them around. A blue belt submitting a brown happens. Tyrone Glover is a brown belt and he got tapped by a blue, Mike Fowler was a brown belt at the time he got tapped by a blue... but these were in no gi matches so it's not the same as BJJ in terms of submissions allowed and the use of the gi. Did your guy get the brown belt in a gi or no gi match?

 

I don't know, apparently it went back and forth and eventually they just called time and that was it. Apparently Frank had just dropped by to see a friend there and joined in the class, ended up rolling with BJ and they just kept going at it for the entire sparring session. Apparently Penn tapped Randy out a few times when he visited Team Quest but had trouble with Hendo when he visited Team Quest last year.

 

Herring and Mir are training buddies at the Las Vegas Combat Club so I don't see them fighting anytime soon, especially since Heath has outstanding fights on his K-1 MMA contract. He still has lots of potential and age is in his favour so I think he could do well now he's moved back to the US. His training suffered in Holland with the lack of grappling coaches and skilled training partners his size as well as the obvious vices that can occur when in Amsterdam. If he refocuses and learns to kick properly so he doesn't blow his knee out because he didn't post his leg correctly I think he could be back up to speed withing 2 years, after which tim,e he will hopefully go back to PRIDE or move to the UFC.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Oh I know about the judo rankings, but I'm saying most of those rankings are based upon standing throws and the like, which shows that in a submission grappling no gi match Karo would have the advantage since his groundwork is seemingly superior.

 

I'm not sure if it was no gi or gi, but you're right it does make a difference. Nonetheless, if it was no gi it wouldn't have been because of a size issue, as he's a small guy. In addition, he mostly trains gi so it's not like he'd be out of place. Though you are definitely right, now that I think about it it was probably no gi.

 

The big deal when Penn visited Team Quest was that he was able to take them down which impresses me more than him being able to tap them out.

 

It was probably off for me to suggest 2001, since the UFC HW division was better then than it is now. Nowadays, Sylvia, Arlovski and Mir would probably beat him. I'll get into Mir vs. Herring later though.

[Lei Tong 0]

Nowadays I'd favor Andrei, Sylvia and Vera against Herring easily (no matter how focused he is), as all would make him look foolish standing (as usual). Andrei & Sylvia both have solid enough takedown D to stuff Herring's sophmoric bullrushes, and Vera is more than capable of avoiding Heath's G&P. Mir is a bit more of question mark for me, as he's not good enough on the feet to take it to Herring, and his takedowns are nothing special. Add in a questionable gas tank and it's a toss-up.

 

While I'm at it, if Herring were to look as bad as he did against Greco, Yamamoto, McGee... well, almost anyone he's fought lately, I'd also favor Mir, Buentello & maybe even Eilers against him. Hell, I'm not even taking into account the lack of knees to head on the ground in UFC.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Vera?!

 

Oh man, this Herring hating is too much.

 

Herring has faced better competition than any of the UFC heavyweights, bar none. He has beaten bigger, harder fighters than just about every UFC heavyweight out there, and that counts for something. He could crap out better opponents than Vera has faced. Until I see something more from Vera -who I do like and hope to see more of- I don't think its fair to say he'd take Herring.

 

Despite his win over Maty, I still don't think Arlovski could handle a good wrestler, which Herring is. Herring could be very effective in the cage working GnP up against the fence, plus he can still knee to the body and get to work elbows as well. I can easily see Herring taking AA down at some point, pushing him against the fence, and from there the options are plentiful. Standing, Herring hasn't been knocked out. His losses have come from cuts, which is a possibility but I don't think Arlovski can inflict that same sort of damage against him, not with his current style, at least. And I also don't think AA can kick like Cro Cop. Is it an easy win for Heath? Of course not. But Heath would be AA's toughest challenge in the octagon, and is a much better choice than guys like Buentello and Eilers. But then again, UFC is protecting AA like crazy and feeding him strikers and keeping him away from wrestlers, so I doubt we'd see Heath or anyone like Heath against him in some time.

 

Sylvia, in general, is a tough test for anyone given his size and boxing ability. I think he'd be a much tougher test than Arlovski. That Herring took so long to finish Giant Silva cause he wasn't able to deal with the size issue doesn't bode well up against someone like Sylvia.

[Lei Tong 0]

Vera?!

 

Herring has faced better competition than any of the UFC heavyweights, bar none. He has beaten bigger, harder fighters than just about every UFC heavyweight out there, and that counts for something. He could crap out better opponents than Vera has faced. Until I see something more from Vera -who I do like and hope to see more of- I don't think its fair to say he'd take Herring.

 

Yes, he's faced better opponents than most UFC heavies... and? He's gotten his ass kicked by the ones that matter, barely pulled through against the fringes and managed to run over some cans.

 

Who did he beat that was so impressive? The human needle receptacle Mark Kerr? The equally overrated Igor Vovchanchyn? Tom "Hey, what's cardio?" Erikson?Whoop-dee-doo. A guy like Vernon White has been in there with a ton a great fighters (and managed to beat some decent ones), yet I can think of plenty of fighters with a fraction of the experience that would whoop on him. The fact is Vera has already shown more skill in the past year than Herring has shown throughout his sad career. Hell, at least Vera's knees are purposely thrown, as opposed to the results of sloppy high kicks. Herring could've stayed at Golden Glory for another decade and then trained in Thailand for another and he still wouldn't have any idea how to throw a decent looking strike.

 

Despite his win over Maty, I still don't think Arlovski could handle a good wrestler, which Herring is.

 

Herring... good wrestler?

 

 

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!1111777

 

If charging head down with your arms out in front of you constitutes a good shot, then every other bar room brawler I've ever seen must have been a Division II champ, at least.

 

Wait... are we thinking of the same good wrestler who got put on his back, mounted and rear mounted over and over again like a porn star agaisnt Yoshihisa Yamamoto?

 

As far as Vladdy goes, despite being 30lbs. smaller, you'd better believe that Matyushenko is twice the wrestler Heath could ever hope to be. He managed to take Pedro Rizzo down with more ease than Heath had trying to take Sam Greco to the ground, even with the size disadvantage.

 

Herring could be very effective in the cage working GnP up against the fence, plus he can still knee to the body and get to work elbows as well.

 

Because Heath has used elbows when? He's shown more than decent G&P against who?

 

I can easily see Herring taking AA down at some point, pushing him against the fence, and from there the options are plentiful.

 

- So he's going to do what the much more talented Ricco Rodriguez had trouble doing against a much, much greener version of Arlovski?

 

Standing, Herring hasn't been knocked out. His losses have come from cuts, which is a possibility but I don't think Arlovski can inflict that same sort of damage against him, not with his current style, at least. And I also don't think AA can kick like Cro Cop.

 

Great strikers Herring has faced: Filipovic & Greco

Those he beat: 0

 

Decent strikers Herring has faced: Schrijber, Noguiera, Vovchanchyn, Hoffman

Number he managed to outstrike: 0

 

Outsized, wildly swinging Hawaiian underdogs Herring has faced: Enson Inoue

Percentage that put him on his ass: 100%

 

 

But hey, Arlovski's only been putting guys out within 5 minutes, including complete wreckages of Matyushenko, Eilers & Freeman, a knockdown of Sylvia and the one punch KO of Buentello. How uneventful.

 

Is it an easy win for Heath? Of course not. But Heath would be AA's toughest challenge in the octagon, and is a much better choice than guys like Buentello and Eilers. But then again, UFC is protecting AA like crazy and feeding him strikers and keeping him away from wrestlers, so I doubt we'd see Heath or anyone like Heath against him in some time.

 

UFC is protecting Arlovski from... who? The last I checked, there aren't any unsigned or freelance HW's I'd give a better chance against AA than Buentello, who can at least throw a high kick (albeit VERY SLOWLY) without blowing out his knee.

[Lei Tong 0]

PS:

 

Sam Greco demonstrating how he puts a lame horse out of its misery...

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Say what you will about Herrings record, but who have you listed that has a better one? Vovchanchyn and Erikson are fuckin worlds beyond the vast majority of the shmucks that occupy most of these guys' records. Vera looking good against that sort of competition doesn't hold a lot of weight. Put him in a big match scenario agianst world class fighters - the ones where Herring has been in numerous times - and see how he performs.

 

I think Herring is a good enough wrestler to take AA down. The guy is one of the better grappling heavyweights out there, and managed to turn over Fedor but the bell stopped him before he could get anything off. That he gave up positioning doesn't really concern me, given his ability to get out of it. He knows he can get out of it. I think he can get in close with Arlovski and put him against the fence and bring it down from there. Ricco didn't and doesn't like to get hit in the face, whereas Herring takes more risks. That's a key factor when facing Arlovski.

 

Vladdy went for, like, one half-assed takedown attempt on Arlovski. Not much of a test for the pitbull. He has yet to be put against a good wrestler.

 

Just because Heath doesn't get to use elbows in PRIDE doesn't mean he couldn't use them in the UFC. Given Heaths arm strength, I'd say his elbows would be pretty dangerous. He obliterated both Yokoi and Takahashi with some strong strikes (the Takahashi finish included some good GnP, btw).

 

Herring took some sick shots from Fedor and still was in the fight. Arlovski doesn't have near that kind of power, so I can't see him putting down Herring. Arlovskis success comes from accurate punches and I just don't see him being able to tag Herring.

 

They've been feeding Arlovski all strikers. Mark Coleman, Tom Erikson, hell, Mike Van Arsdale, come to mind right away and would be a threat at this point to Arlovski given their wrestling ability. Until they put him up against a wrestler, the guy is untested.

 

 

Edit: Oh shit, sorry, wrong picture...

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

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You know damn well what that Gomi picture was RRR

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

All those wrestlers would have a hell of a problem with him, considering that they would have to set up a takedown with strikes in order to be effective at all. Mark Coleman vs. Cro Cop is exactly how a fight with AA would go I imagine.

 

Mir is a better striker than Herring, is probably stronger and is much better at gaining good positions, considering how quick Herring is to give them up. I can easily see him overpowering Herring to the ground and working some GnP to a submission. Mir vs. Arlovski will be a good indicator of where he stands, as I could just as easily see Herring pulling an Ian Freeman.

 

No way would I favour Vera, like I said before that guy looked really lacklustre against a guy that is essentially a pure grappler. Apparently he has world class wrestling, but I certainly didn't see it in that fight. He would get destroyed by Chuck Liddell, if they actually put that one together. The fact that I can see four UFC LHW beating him shows that he can't really be good enough to beat Herring.

[Lei Tong 0]

Say what you will about Herrings record, but who have you listed that has a better one? Vovchanchyn and Erikson are fuckin worlds beyond the vast majority of the shmucks that occupy most of these guys' records.

 

Vovchanchyn: an undersized, overrated brawler with average takedown defense and a penchant for shooting in when he realizes that his stand-up isn't what its cracked up to be. Prior to the Herring bout, had been rather humiliated by UFC whipping boy Tra Telligman and Mr. Spoiler himself, Mario Sperry. Since the Herring loss, has been busy trying to stay above .500 as a LHW.

 

Erikson: As Mr. Blue so eloquently put, "...a wrestling coach moonlighting as an MMA fighter." I like Tom and all, but he has exactly one impressive MMA win to his credit (the KO over Randleman). The fact that for years not many people wanted to fight him lead to something of an inflated stature as a fighter. Never was that great techincally nor a good finisher (some of his more memorable wins come via wrist RNC, rapist strangle and a crossface), and unfortunately folded thrice against real competition.

 

Vera looking good against that sort of competition doesn't hold a lot of weight. Put him in a big match scenario agianst world class fighters - the ones where Herring has been in numerous times - and see how he performs.

 

While I certainly don't like Vera's (no anyone else's) chanches vs. Fedor, I could actually see Vera making a better show of things against both Noguiera & Mirko, avoiding the aforementioned laughably bad stand-up exchanges and pathetic takedown attempts.

 

I think Herring is a good enough wrestler to take AA down. The guy is one of the better grappling heavyweights out there, and managed to turn over Fedor but the bell stopped him before he could get anything off.

 

What makes him a good grappling HW? Because he knows how to slap on a keylock? So does Ron Waterman. Only in a division as shallow as HW could a guy with sophmoric skills on the ground be considered a "good grappler," nevermind the lack of positioning skills and guard game. Besides, would a good grappler need to rely on Yamamoto gassing to be able to defeat him?

 

I think he can get in close with Arlovski and put him against the fence and bring it down from there.

 

The same guy who had hell getting an aged former K-1 star to the ground and holding him there is going to put Andrei on his back? Sure.

 

Ricco didn't and doesn't like to get hit in the face, whereas Herring takes more risks. That's a key factor when facing Arlovski.

 

Actually, neither guy likes getting hit in the face. Why else would Heath so often fall back on his "good wrestling?" The real difference is that when he's not a fat piece of shit, Ricco actually has the ability to dictate where the fight goes, as opposed to flailing his limbs about like he's having a seizure (Herring's preffered strategy).

 

Vladdy went for, like, one half-assed takedown attempt on Arlovski. Not much of a test for the pitbull. He has yet to be put against a good wrestler.

 

1) Vladimir actually shot in for 2 quick double leg takedowns (much better than anything Herring could offer up), and even managed to try a decent double leg attempt from his knees while rocked. He simply couldn't deal with Andrei's size and agility.

 

2) Vladimir and Ricco are good wrestlers.

 

Just because Heath doesn't get to use elbows in PRIDE doesn't mean he couldn't use them in the UFC. Given Heaths arm strength, I'd say his elbows would be pretty dangerous. He obliterated both Yokoi and Takahashi with some strong strikes (the Takahashi finish included some good GnP, btw).

 

Heath's previous VT bouts showed a consipicuous lack of elbow use.

 

As for the Takahashi finish... if you ignore the fact that Heath got caught by a telegraphed big right, dragged into a front headlock, kneed from there, then pushed himself into a guillotine that he took his sweet time muscling out of, before finally tripoding and unloading on a 5'10, 210lbs. shot former Pancrase also-ran, then I guess there was some DECENT G&P to behold.

 

The Yokoi bout was one overrated fighter getting smashed by another overrated fighter.

 

Herring took some sick shots from Fedor and still was in the fight. Arlovski doesn't have near that kind of power, so I can't see him putting down Herring.

 

HOLY FUCKING CONJECTURE, BATMAN!

 

Fedor has manged to knockout 1 person throughout his entire MMA career, and suddenly he hits harder than a proven KO artist? Fedor hits hard, no doubt, but what proof is there that he hits harder than Arlovski? All those KO's he DIDN'T score?

 

Arlovski's success comes from accurate punches and I just don't see him being able to tag Herring.

 

Because Herring's the Floyd Mayweather of MMA? Are you telling me that the same guy who couldn't get out of the way of Enson's punches is going to avoid Andrei's barrage? HA!

 

 

They've been feeding Arlovski all strikers. Mark Coleman, Tom Erikson, hell, Mike Van Arsdale, come to mind right away and would be a threat at this point to Arlovski given their wrestling ability. Until they put him up against a wrestler, the guy is untested.

 

Ricco & Vladimir are grapplers by trade. Ricco fared well, though he mounted Andrei on no less than 3 occassions before he could finally put a young Pitbull away in the 3rd. As for the others, Coleman and Erikson are non-finishers with shitty gas tanks. MVA? I'm a big fan, but this is the same guy who got dropped by a Chris Haseman side kick. None of them would make it midway through the 2nd.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

You make me cry, Lei.

 

 

 

So who do you think would be good enough to face AA? Who would you build as a challenger? To me, the only guy who can beat AA is a good wrestler or an excellent striker. Looking at the UFC Heavyweight division...

 

If you want a Top 10 in possibilities:

 

1. Frank Mir

2. Tim Sylvia

3. Assuerio Silva

4. Brandon Vera

5. Branden Lee Hinkle

6. Marcio "Pe de Pano" Cruz

7. Reshad Evans

8. Keith Jardine

9. Brad Imes

10. Mike Whitehead

 

With an outside chance that Gonzaga gets brought back.

[Lei Tong 0]

Frank Mir

 

- I don't think Mir has the takedowns nor gas tank to pose much threat to Andrei.

 

Tim Sylvia

 

- Not as well rounded a striker or overall fighter as AA, but is big, can punch straight and punch hard. Has as decent as anyone in the UFC.

 

Assuerio Silva

 

- Relatively well-rounded, but his lack of any one strong area in his game(that and the Overeem match is still fresh in my mind) makes me think he's not up to the task.

 

Brandon Vera

 

- Gives up too much size and has yet to show he could handle the striknig pressure AA would bring. However, he's technically proficient enough that I'd say he could give a good showing while it lasts.

 

Branden Lee Hinkle

 

- Overrated wrestler whom has presumably sold his soul to the devil to get some mainstream recognition.

 

Marcio "Pe de Pano" Cruz

 

- A less athletic, less experienced version of Mir, sans the average takedowns. Theoretically, he could eventually build on his BJJ base and become a decent fighter, but I'm not holding my breathe.

 

Reshad Evans

 

- His wrestling skills made me wonder for a while, but the fact that he got hurt badly from Jardine's jabs quickly answered any doubt I have about his chances.

 

Keith Jardine

 

- Too small and technically unproficient.

 

Brad Imes

 

- Far too raw and too easy of a target.

 

Mike Whitehead

 

-A good enough wrestler to possibly put Arlovski on his back at some point, but would eventually lnog for the beating Vera gave him.

 

With an outside chance that Gonzaga gets brought back.

 

If Gonzaga's excuse is legit, I imagine the UFC will at least give him another pity fight.

 

Overall, I see Sylvia as the only UFC fighter that has a decent chance of beating Andrei.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

I thought the UFC would bring him back for two reasons really; he won, and he's a heavyweight who won by KO. Not to mention that he has a ground game, which the UFC seems to want to show off seeing as how they've brought in two grappling phenoms here.

 

A better question is who can beat Arlovski from PRIDE? I'm going by a lot of potential, but I'd say the only one is Fedor that I know for sure, with Cro Cop and Kharitanov perhaps having an even line. I think he'd have a lot of advantages on Nog. I haven't seen Werdum vs. Kharitanov so maybe Werdum is a threat now too.

[Guest Brian]

Chris Leben is the voice of reason.

 

From the WO Newsletter:

 

 

"After the UFC show on 11/19, many of the fighters went to Pure, a night club in Caesar's Palace. Phil Baroni was there, and apparently way out of control. He saw Chris Leben, who UFC was attempting to match him up with, but it fell through, largely because Baroni was under contract to Pride. Baroni, pissed off and angry, approached Leben. Leben, seeing the state Baroni was in, stayed very calm. Baroni asked Leben if he wanted to fight him, and Leben said, "No, you would probably kill me," smartly diffusing the situation. However, Baroni then saw a MMA website reporter who apparently had made a lot of cracks about Baroni and steroids, and punched the guy in the face. The reporter was sitting with B.J. Penn, who stepped in and told Baroni to cool it. Baroni, who was holding a drink, put his drink down and then challenged Penn to go at it. Unlike Leben, Penn was ready, but it was broken up by security because a punch had been thrown (at the reporter) and Baroni was out of there."

[I like Forums 0]

Damn, I'd buy that on PPV sans bouncers.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Weird, considering I thought those two were chummy (Penn and Baroni). I guess it makes sense since Baroni was drunk though.

 

RRR might just get his wish about AA facing a grappler: Jeff Monson on to UFC with win at Cage Warriors

[Guest AndrewisyourHero]

So after Penn mauls Baroni..

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

What if Vitor Belfort moved up in weight? Randy Couture? Chuck Liddell vs. Arlovski, Champion vs. Champion would be sweet. Would size be a factor here? Bringing back Rizzo or Rodriguez (what's the word on Ricco, I heard he turned down a fight with Arlovski - anything behind that?), would they be anything? What about BABALU?

 

How about brining in a K-1 Fighter? Or would Arlovski go the grappling route in that case?

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Oh man, I never realized how fucking good Randy Couture was back when he started. His use of knees makes me long for a PRIDE fight (or better yet, UFC allowing them). Has anyone had a better rookie year than Randy Couture did in 1997?

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Ricco turned down a fight because they didn't offer him the kind of money he would have needed to prepare for a fight of that magnitude.

 

I'd love to see Randy Couture move up to HW and take on Minotauro. Randy Couture seems to have gotten better submission defense since his loss to Enson, and size won't be a factor in this one. He actually might be stronger, since Mino had a hard time moving Dan Henderson around. Nog might be the better boxer technically, but Randy's dirty boxing is tricky.